Down They Go
by Year of the dog
Summary: This was quite possibly the worst idea the two idiots had ever had. The paint wasn't helping any. —mild RyojixFeMC


_I got this idea off a prompt on tumblr. You'd be surprised how many good writing prompts you can find on that website. Also, my attempts at comedy are slowly becoming sadder. As are my titles._

**Disclaimer**: Still don't own Persona. Still don't own five bucks.

* * *

**Down They Go**

"This is the worst idea you two idiots have ever had."

"Stop whining and move your skinny butt."

Yukari looked utterly offended at the other girl's comment, and gave her an adequate glare.

"Chop chop," Riichi continued, ignoring her companion. "Left foot green."

Amidst them, Junpei let out a short snort of a laugh.

Yukari whirled on him. "Shut up, Stupei!" she snapped, but moved her leg all the same.

It had been sheer fancy that had the whole group of them gathered together in the common room of the dorm that Saturday evening. Sheer stupid fancy, some would argue. And the culprits behind it—as always—was the idiot duo, Junpei and their fearless leader. Riichi had heard from a classmate about a new way to play Twister, and after running the idea by her partner in crime the two had managed to talk them all into playing.

Yukari supposed the whole thing wasn't too bad a proposition. What she really had a problem with was that Riichi had been able to charm them into letting Ryoji play as well.

The offending individual wobbled slightly. "This is quite slippery, I must admit," he chuckled. He probably would have said something dirty but he noticed Yukari's glare and wisely held his tongue.

Junpei wasn't as intelligent. "Soo," he drawled out. "Who's up for taking a shower after this?" His grin was slimy.

The brunette almost kicked him. She was so tangled with the others though that she was half afraid she'd end up kicking Ken in the head.

Akihiko snorted. "Knock it off, Junpei," he ordered. It was hard to take him seriously with the streak of yellow paint across his jaw though.

Coiled over Ryoji, Riichi let out a low chuckle. "I'm sure Koro'd love to run through a sprinkler with you," she supplied.

Junpei scowled. "Hell no! It's freezing outside."

From his seat outside the Twister mat, Koro let out a slightly disappointed bark.

Mitsuru sniffed. "Am I allowed to spin this now?" she asked. It was more of a warning than an actual question. She'd spin the damn thing regardless of how ready the rest of them were.

Yukari was jealous of the empress. She'd much rather have been the one barking orders then being here tangled with a bunch of people she really didn't want to be touching. Not that her teammates disgusted her—aside from Junpei, and that one outsider Riichi had insisted they bring—but she wasn't exactly happy with accidentally brushing hands with Akihiko and being forced to endure Fuuka's feet near her face. But Mitsuru had made it perfectly clear before they began that she would have no part in twisting around with them and getting her clothes splattered with paint. Yukari had been forced to play down here with the rest of them or be dubbed the resident party pooper.

Actually, now that she thought of it, she was more jealous of Aigis. The android had taken a fairly hard knock in Tartarus the other day and had been confined to her room for maintenance. She'd briefly come down to see what the commotion was about when they first started, but Mitsuru had forbidden her from participating. It was most likely out of fear of the paint junking up the girl's damaged gears, but the logic of it hadn't made the order any easier on the poor thing. Aigis had retreated back to her room looking like a kicked puppy.

"Riichi-chan," Fuuka stammered, most of her attention focused on trying not to slip into a face full of blue. "Where did you find so much paint?"

"Right hand yellow!" Mitsuru called, almost lazily.

They all shifted. Riichi was trying not to fall on Ryoji, though now that she had to wind her arm around Akihiko's thigh it was becoming increasingly harder for her to stay up. "Convenience store," she grunted. "And the accessory store. I asked around the mall; they gave me their leftover cans." Her words were coming out in short breaths thanks to the way her torso was twisted.

From the other end of the matt Junpei let out a bark of a laugh. "Really, Reech?" he ventured. "Is there anywhere you don't have connections?"

Having been silent for almost the entire game, Yukari had almost forgotten Ken was there until the boy suddenly piped up. "Riichi-san is nice, that's why people like helping her out."

The girl had a pretty pink dusting across her cheeks after that. "Thank you, Ken," she smiled at him. "That's awfully sweet of you."

Ken flushed himself this time, though his face turned a far deeper shade of red than Riichi's had. "N-no, not really," he stammered. His embarrassment was only furthered by the fact that the way they were twisted had Riichi almost knocking foreheads with him.

"I'll make you some omelets later," she continue, smiling even wider, and Yukari thought Ken was going to start releasing steam from his ears.

"You've never made me omelets, Rii-chan," Ryoji interjected, feigning hurt.

Junpei sniffed, "Yea, form a line bud. Calls me her best pal and I haven't seen any cooking yet." He slipped slightly and righted himself with a muttered curse. "Bakes cookies for Fuuka all the time though, and every Saturday is Pancake Day with good ol' Akihiko-senpai."

The boxer rolled his shoulders uncomfortably and ignored the conversation. "Mitsuru, could you spin the damn thing again already?" His arm was awkwardly placed under Fuuka's torso, and while he was far less embarrassed then the poor girl was (she'd been unable to look at him for the past six minutes) it had left his shoulder screaming obscenities at him. It couldn't have been easy for him to hold himself up with it either, with the paint making the matt that much slipperier.

The red-haired senior looked far too amused by their current situation. "I was merely waiting for you to get comfortable, Akihiko," she quipped. With that subtle grin of hers she allowed a manicured nail to lazily flick the spinner. "Left hand yellow," she announced.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Junpei shouted, but still moved with the rest of them.

Yukari could have echoed his sentiments. This move was going to finally get her hand away from the senior's, but she was going to be staring Junpei in the face now. She thought she might have just preferred awkwardly brushing fingers with Akihiko. Since neither of them were too fond of this new arrangement they spent the better part of the next few minutes glaring into each other's eyes.

Riichi let out a low giggle. "The flames of love," she snickered, and her laughter only grew more obnoxious after the pair had shot murderous looks at her.

"Rii-chan," Ryoji coughed. "Could you um, shift your leg a little?"

The girl looked confused. "Okay," she allowed, and moved.

Ryoji let out a short whine. "Other way, p-please," he stammered, desperately trying to arch away from her.

Riichi's face flamed. "Oh god, I'm sorry," she squeaked, understanding finally dawning. It was Junpei's turn to snicker. The rest of them however, just looked increasingly uncomfortable.

"Disgusting," Yukari growled under her breath.

Mitsuru cleared her throat and spun the needle. "Left foot blue," she announced.

The entire group scrambled to obey, and it was this frantic movement that found their first casualty.

Fuuka went down with a dull thud. The poor girl let out a short squeak as her arms went out from under her and she slipped forward. When she had regained her senses, she managed to pull herself up and stumble off the mat. The old shirt she had chosen to sacrifice was completely muddied with color. The way she'd fallen had splattered paint over her neck and chin as well. The girl looked unsure what to do with herself in such a state, and the confusion on her face made some of the participants laugh.

"Lookin' good, Fuuka," Junpei called out.

Riichi bit her lip and tried not to giggle. "You look really cute actually," she offered, and though she was laughing it was obviously sincere.

Akihiko didn't even try to hide his grin. "Chin up, kid," he called. "Those are some good battle scars."

"Says the man with a face covered in paint already," Mitsuru voiced, and the boxer turned a scowl at her.

No longer bewildered, Fuuka managed a smile. "It'll make for a nice picture, won't it," she giggled. She looked around for a moment and then gingerly seated herself on the floor near Mitsuru, careful not to touch anything with her paint covered hands.

Having apparently expected this, Mitsuru handed her a towel. "Dry your hands off as best as you can," she urged. The short haired girl timidly accepted the offering and did as told.

"Alright, coach!" Junpei called. The group had managed to finally stabilize themselves after Fuuka's fall and the boy had become over eager to get the game going again. "Lay it on me!"

"Right hand red," Mitsuru sniffed in response.

Yukari groaned and across the mat Ken let out a muttered '_yes_'.

With one less person the mat had opened up. That being said there was still five of them crowded into a relatively small area and most of them were still uncomfortably tangled. Yukari had thankfully moved away from Junpei, but this new position had her nearer to Ryoji. The girl couldn't figure out whether this was slightly better or dramatically worse. On the bright side she wasn't staring this stupid boy in the face.

Riichi had managed to slide off from on top of Ryoji, but now she had a limb entwined with three different people. Her one arm was still awkwardly around Akihiko's leg, her other had somehow managed to lock with one of Yukari's, and her legs were still uncomfortably close to the black-haired boy's nether regions. She looked to be having quite a bit of trouble staying upright at the moment, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by her usual partner in crime.

"Hey, Reech," Junpei called, and his grin made the girl cautious. "You know, we never said what the winner would get."

Both girls left in the game narrowed their eyes. "You're right," Riichi began. "We didn't."

Yukari was surprised to see the girl so wary. She was normally so willingly to go along with Junpei's stupid suggestions. It was enough to make her even more concerned than she'd normally be. If Riichi was worried that only meant Junpei wanted something unbearably terrible. She bristled. "If you say one stupid thing I'm kicking you," she threatened.

Junpei snorted. "Go ahead. You'll fall and then as the winner I'll get to see something nice." His grin had turned malicious and the tone of his voice dared her to try. Yukari was almost tempted enough to go through with it. Assured that the girl wasn't going to attack him, Junpei continued. "So, we already know we're going to Kyoto for the school trip, right? Well, if I win, I want to see the girls dressed up like geishas while we're there."

Yukari snarled, "_Have you gotten stupider_" at the same time that Riichi snapped, "_Hell no_" and Fuuka squeaked.

"That's a rather brave proposition out of you, Iori," Mitsuru commended. The woman was smiling, but there was something so terrifying in the soft curl of her lips that Junpei hastened to correct himself.

"O-of course not _you_, Senpai!" he stammered, laughing awkwardly in an attempt at placation. "I mean, you weren't playing down here with us, it wouldn't be fair to include _you_!"

Mitsuru's smile didn't so much as twitch. "Ah, I see. How very kind of you." There was an unspoken threat in her tone but the danger had basically passed and Junpei visibly relaxed.

The rest of the girls were not so pacified however.

From beside the red-headed senior, Fuuka swallowed hard. "I, I don't think I have the confidence to wear something like that." Her cheeks were pink with uncertainty.

"Fuuka, I think you'd be the cutest," Junpei assured her. The girl flushed a little brighter, but the boy's flattery seemed to be swaying her.

"Junpei, do you realize how expensive that's going to be? Are _you_ going to pony up for this?" Riichi interjected. Yukari was a little surprised that was the reason she had latched onto, but then again the girl was surprisingly frugal (and unabashedly shameless when she wanted to be, so the money aspect probably was the most realistic after all).

This didn't seem to be a good excuse for the boy arguing with them however. "Are you kidding me?" he was almost shouting. "That wouldn't even make a dent in your wallet and you know it! You forget I'm aware how much dough you have." Riichi just sneered back at him.

Ken cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, Junpei-san," he began, appearing to be a little unsure of himself. "Maybe if one of them wins you should wear it instead."

The group went silent.

The boxer was the first one to finally break it, and he did it by letting out a loud laugh. "Yeah Junpei, that sounds like a pretty good plan." His grin was almost mocking. "Maybe you'll finally get a date."

Junpei scowled. "What!? That's low man!" After a moment of thought he continued, "Wait, are you still mad about Yakushima? Dude, that was so long ago!"

Ken and Ryoji wore looks of obvious confusion, but the rest of them were trying to hold back laughter.

The boy continued ranting. "You realize if that's the plan you'll end up wearing one too."

Akihiko shrugged, obviously unconcerned. Yukari replied in his place with a snorted, "He's not the one being a jackass. I don't see why Akihiko-senpai should have to suffer the same punishment." She glared so hard that Junpei was almost afraid daggers were going to come out of her eyes.

"Can we please just go back to playing?" Apparently done with the conversation, Akihiko prodded the other senior to continue.

"Right hand green," she replied.

Riichi slipped.

The girl let out a loud yelp and fell into Yukari. The two of them were a tangled mess for a moment (and Yukari swore she knocked into poor Ken at some point because the boy gave a rather startled squeak) before the brunette went down.

Yukari lay there in shock. The girl finally pulled herself up and was immediately greeted with the fact that in their struggle Riichi had managed to right herself. The other girl looked up at her sheepishly. Part of her wanted to strangle her friend (especially because if Junpei was serious about this punishment, they were one step closer to being forced to dress like idiots) but she sucked in a long breath and let it go. Slowly she stalked around the mat and deposited herself next to Fuuka. Her mood brightened slightly when Fuuka offered her the towel, but the scowl was back when she realized there was a glob of blue paint in her hair.

"I bet you'll look good with all those fancy hairpins, Yuka-tan," Junpei called. The girl's glare only sharpened.

Uncomfortable with all the continued hostility, Ryoji tried to bring back the peace. "I'm sure all the girls would look very lovely," he conceded. "But maybe you should pick a different thing for them to do if you win?"

Junpei snorted. "You don't understand, Ryoji my man. You haven't seen them in yukata." He gave the boy a look full of meaning to which Ryoji responded with an amiable smile and an awkward laugh. "Plus, isn't it every guy's dream to have a woman dressed in a gorgeous kimono dote on him?" His expression took on a blissful, faraway look.

Ken snorted. "I thought it was every man's dream to have a maid?" he muttered. The conversation was obviously putting him in a rather foul mood.

The older boy turned on the kid immediately. "Come on, Ken," he prodded. "Don't you think Reech would be pretty all dolled up like that? With her hair styled, and her face painted white?"

"Ri-Riichi-san doesn't need to wear all that! She's already pretty!" Ken sputtered, and then went red as he realized what he'd just confessed.

Akihiko grinned. "Sounds like you got yourself a fan," he teased, nudging the girl's arm lightly with his leg.

From her position off the mat, Yukari sniffed. "Yeah, join the horde."

"Jealousy is unbecoming, Yuka-tan," Junpei called, and immediately looked away when she turned her glare back on him.

Riichi cleared her throat and tried hard not to be embarrassed. She shifted awkwardly and only became even more uncomfortable when Ryoji let out another choked whine and she hastened with a flurry of flustered apologies.

Done with the foolishness, Mitsuru flicked the needle again. "Left foot yellow," she announced, and the ensuing groans made her lips twitch into another smile.

There were two individuals that appreciated the move though, as Riichi was finally allowed to get one of her legs away from the black-haired boy. Both juniors let out relieved sighs. Akihiko and Junpei however, were not so lucky. Because of the way they were positioned there was only one yellow circle each of them could reach comfortably, and the two ended up fighting for control of it.

"Junpei move," Akihiko finally snapped.

The boy didn't budge. "Hell no, I got here first," he shot back, desperately trying to edge the senior off.

Mitsuru raised an amused eyebrow. "Are you two quite finished?"

Both boys scowled. "Call!" Akihiko ordered.

The woman looked a little affronted, but spun all the same. "Right hand red."

And the boys went down.

Akihiko swore. Junpei covered his face with his hands in aggravation. Both of them laid there for a few minutes. The first movement came from someone entirely different.

Riichi snorted. She dropped her head and tried hard to hold back her laughter, but she kept letting small noises through her nose. The boxer clucked his tongue in annoyance, while Junpei made some sort of sob from around his palms. Ken's expression looked rather superior at the moment, and he grinned at the two sprawled on the mat.

"All right," Yukari called. "Clear the field." Her mood had drastically improved after watching Junpei's spill. She was smiling rather prettily at the moment, sweetly scratching Koromaru's neck.

Junpei threw himself down on the other side of the dog with a huff. He grabbed the towel from its spot at Yukari's feet and angrily wiped his hands off. Akihiko moved to stand next to Mitsuru (ignoring her pointed looks to not touch her with his paint splattered hands) and sniffed in disappointment.

"Ryoji!" Junpei shouted from the sidelines. "You're the only hope left! You gotta win this for us!"

Yukari pulled through with her earlier threats and kicked him squarely in the shin. "Shut up, Stupei!" she snarled before turning her attention to the other junior. "And you," she continued, her tone murderous. "If you even _dare_."

Ryoji gave a rather weak laugh in reply. "Um, I'll do my best." He almost seemed unwilling to continue with the threat of violence hanging over his head.

"You can do it, Ken-kun," Fuuka called, cupping her hands around her mouth for dramatic effect.

Yukari joined in. "You got this, Ken-kun! Win and show those two who's boss!"

Riichi turned a scowl on the spectators. "How come no one wants me to win?" she sulked, cheek puffing out in a pout.

"Because we don't trust you," Yukari sniffed, an unnaturally bright smile playing across her face.

The boxer grinned, "I hope you win."

"Oh?" Mitsuru asked, giving the boy a rather amused look.

Understanding her implications, he explained. "I always root for the underdog. You know that."

Riichi continued to pout. "That's kind of mean, senpai," she sniffed.

He shrugged. "Of the three of you Ryoji's got strength, and Ken's flexible and has a lower center of gravity. You're the least likely. Sorry kid." His grin only widened as she curled her nose in annoyance at him. "I still want you to win, don't be so sour."

"You say that, but Rii-chan's pretty flexible too," Ryoji cut in, and the room paused.

"Excuse me?" Yukari finally voiced, sounding rather offended at the whole thing.

Ryoji looked utterly confused at the myriad looks of disbelief and offense he was receiving. "I've seen her play tennis," he clarified. "She twists an awful lot when she's out there."

The girl in question curled her lips into something wicked. "Well, look at all of you. Dirty minded perverts," she accused, the amusement prevalent in her tone.

Fuuka flushed and hung her head while next to her Yukari and Junpei exchanged annoyed snorts. Akihiko looked fairly confused about the whole exchange.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Ken spoke up once more. "Maybe we should continue," he urged.

Mitsuru called before the other two had time to get their bearings back. "Left hand yellow."

"Already on it," Riichi yelled back.

The woman didn't miss a beat. "Right foot blue."

The players shifted.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this," Ryoji spoke, his voice surprisingly calm for being in such awkward positioning. "But I don't plan on losing this." He smiled at the other two, but there was a strange determination in it that they'd never seen in the boy.

Riichi grinned at him. "Well, I don't exactly plan on going out without a fight," she retorted.

"Yes, but I have great incentive to win," he chuckled.

The younger boy scowled. "I'm not going to let you take advantage of Riichi-san," he growled. His glare could rival that of Yukari's at the moment.

Riichi laughed at the look of bafflement that fluttered across Ryoji's face. "I would never dream of it," the boy replied, sounding almost hurt at the accusation. "I hold nothing but respect for Rii-chan."

Ken's expression only darkened. "Stop calling her that," he muttered, but it was said so under his breath that no one heard it.

"Left hand blue," Mitsuru announced, breaking up the conversation.

Riichi wobbled and she knocked arms with Ken, but managed to keep herself upright. With only three of them left, Ryoji had somehow managed to free up all his limbs but one, a leg that was still pretty close to one of Riichi's. For the most part though, the boy was sitting pretty, while on the opposite side the two other players had managed to get themselves even further tangled.

"Keeeen," Riichi whined. "Move your leeeeg."

The poor boy looked far too flustered. "I'm sorry," he stammered. "I'm trying." He really was, but his limbs were too short for him to move very far unless he wanted to risk slipping in the paint.

"Right hand green," Mitsuru voiced.

Riichi carefully slid her arm, watching Ryoji's easy transfer with jealousy. With her attention otherwise occupied she lost track of where she was going and proceeded to hit Ken's extended knee. She let out a surprised squeal as her arm gave out from under her and she went sprawling forward into the boy. Ken went down under her with an undignified shout. The girl was up almost immediately, hauling herself backwards off the boy with alarming speed.

"I am so sorry," she worried, attempting to pull him up out of the muddied glob of colors. "I should have gone the other way, I forgot your hand was there, oh gosh are you okay?" She was babbling now, so focused on making sure the kid wasn't hurt that she'd forgotten to actually let him answer her inquiries.

Ken didn't know how to react to her fussing. "I'm fine," he tried to tell her, and was immediately interrupted by her hand attempting to brush his bangs away. "Riichi-san," he tried again, "I'm really okay. You don't need to-" and was cut off once more by her checking his wrists for sprains.

It must have been frustrating, not having her listen, Yukari thought. But then again, the boy looked rather pleased at having his object of affection (He'd been so obvious about his crush the past few months that they couldn't help but notice. Junpei thought it was hilarious, but she and Fuuka had thought the whole matter rather adorable.) fuss about him so.

Junpei whooped, jumping up in his excitement. "Yes! Geishas, here we come!"

Two of the three girls looked despondent. The third was still too busy worrying to pay any attention to what might be an unwanted fate. Akihiko didn't seem too concerned with the outcome, preferring to stay disappointed in the fact that his prediction hadn't come through. Mitsuru placed the spinner board on the ground at her feet and became uninterested in any further talks of winnings.

"I actually would like to ask for something different," Ryoji announced, giving an apologetic smile when Junpei's whole demeanor dropped. The boy moved out of his awkward position and stood up before bending back down and holding a hand out to the girl seated on the mat. Finally settling down, Riichi noticed the outstretched limb and looked up at him in surprise. After making sure Ken was preparing to get up, she placed her hand in Ryoji's and allowed the boy to pull her to her feet.

Still not trusting him to ask for something reasonable, Yukari eyed the boy dangerously. "All right, hurry up. What is it you want?" she snapped.

His smile was brilliant. "If it's possible, I'd like a kiss." He focused his gaze squarely on Riichi.

The atmosphere became extremely awkward. "You've got to be kidding me," Yukari sniffed, and she sounded like she was laughing at him.

"Duuude," Junpei whined. "You passed up seeing the girls actually looking sexy, for one freaking kiss? Have 'em kiss you when they're dressed up!"

Ryoji's gaze didn't move an inch. "I think I'll stick with a kiss.

Riichi didn't miss a beat. She squeezed the hand still holding her own and raised herself up just enough to press her lips against his cheek. When she pulled back, she left a smudge of green paint, but the boy didn't appear to mind. Ryoji simply glowed.

Ken however, went pale.

"Stupid," Junpei snorted, still angry about the missed opportunity.

Fuuka leaned over to whisper to Yukari. "Are Riichi-chan and Ryoji-san together?" She seemed uncomfortable asking. Yukari figured it was more out of fear of invading Riichi's privacy then the possibility of the relationship.

"God, I hope not," Yukari snipped in reply. The very idea of it made her gag. But then Riichi had always had questionable taste in men. She was besties with Junpei for a start.

Deciding that they were done for the day, Mitsuru stood up from her chair. "That's that," she announced. "Now clean this up."

Some of them briefly entertained asking her to help them (because she _had_ been a participant, regardless of her paint-free appearance) but then decided it wasn't worth her wrath and set about getting the mat together. They'd set a large tarp under the mat to keep the paint off the carpet, so they had a relatively easy time of it. After a short discussion they'd decided to just toss the Twister mat. None of them had any intentions of playing the game again and they'd used most of the paint on this one anyway, so they balled it up and shoved it in one of the nearby trashcans with the spinner board. The tarp they tossed in the back with the plans of hosing off the small amount of paint that had spilled on it when it got warmer outside. When it was all done they each broke off to clean themselves up.

Riichi bent down and fluffed Koromaru's cheeks. The dog's tongue lolled out in a smile and his eyes twinkled, even as the girl's hands left yellow patches on his fur. "Want to go take a bath with me, Koro?" she asked, grinning when the dog responded with a happy bark.

Ryoji bent down next to her to scratch Koromaru behind the ears. "Aren't you a lucky boy," he teased. Riichi gave him an amused glance, to which he responded by feigning innocence.

"I suppose I might need help washing the dog, he does tend to get a bit excited. Don't you, Koro?" She grinned as the dog wiggled his body in what might have been cheeky denial. Riichi stood up, waited for Ryoji to as well, and then started for the stairs. He slyly slipped his hand into hers.

Clearing his throat, and trying not to step on Koromaru's paws as the dog ran up the stairs past them, Ryoji leaned over and whispered, "I do think you'd look rather pretty as a geisha."

The girl cocked her head teasingly. "Maybe you'll be lucky enough to see it someday," she conceded. It only took him twenty minutes and a promise that he wouldn't allow anyone else to witness it to convince her.


End file.
